“I need just to take a breather,” Emma Raducanu reflects on the stalking incident at the Dubai Championships
Emma Raducanu set to return to tennis at the Indian Wells Open after a stalking incident in the Dubai Championships.
Follow Us
Emma Raducanu (Image via X)
It has been barely two weeks since Emma Raducanu was in tears after she saw a man who had been stalking her and exhibiting fixated behavior seated in the stands at the Dubai Championships. The British star has since moved on after the incident was taken care of, but has revealed how she felt about it.
Raducanu was followed to four tournaments – Singapore Open, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Dubai – by the stranger. The man later approached her near the player’s hotel in Dubai before her second round match against Karolina Muchova. He gave Raducanu a letter and took her photo, which unnerved the British star.
She reported the matter to a member of her team, but the information was not passed on to the WTA or the organizers of the Dubai Championships. However, it was not until her match in the second round that she reported the man to the umpire and had to hide behind the umpire chair two games into the match.
The WTA took necessary actions from there banning the man from coming to any Tour event. In her first interview after the incident, Raducanu said that she literally couldn’t breathe when she first saw the man in the stands.
I saw him in the first game of the match and I was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to finish’. I literally couldn’t see the ball through tears. I could barely breathe. I was like, ‘I need to just take a breather’. They were very emotional weeks, because it had carried on for a few weeks before. It was quite tiring. I took a week break when I got home in England and I then decided to come here.
Emma Raducanu said via BBC Sport
The aforementioned incident occurred in the first set of Raducanu’s second round match against Muchova. The British star did well to regroup after the man was removed from the arena but she eventually lost 6(6)-7, 4-6.
Emma Raducanu admits she has been given “greater security” since the stalking incident
Emma Raducanu has been provided enough security after the stalking incident in Dubai. The World No.55 will now be escorted to and from the court by at least one security officer while competing at the Indian Wells Open. The WTA provides enhanced security to a player if she has been the target of a credible threat.
During the aforementioned interview, Raducanu admitted that she has gotten greater security as she hopes the incident doesn’t repeat itself.
Since that incident I have definitely got increased attention and greater security. All we can do is look at what happened and react to it in a better way, in a more positive way, rather than looking back and blaming the situation. Now it is being dealt with better, so for me that’s important. I’m always now very aware and not necessarily doing things on my own any more.
Emma Raducanu said
Raducanu will face Japanese star Moyuka Uchijima in the first round of the Indian Wells Open. The winner between them is guaranteed to play against World No.3 Coco Gauff in the second round.
Stay Updated!
/techfirstnow/media/agency_attachments/kATjCXskQdJKkXN0OuqW.png)